SALEM, NY – What’s in a name? Plenty for the fans of the Federal Hockey League’s northern teams.
Warriors and Privateers are appropriate names for the two North Country rivals as the Thousand Islands Privateers and Akwesasne Warriors prepare for game one of their best-of -five semifinal playoff series that begins Thursday. What is likely to follow the opening puck drop is a closely matched struggle of defensive staying power between two squads that have had more than their share of talent drains, leaving both with depleted defensive armor.
“Defense is going to win this,” Akwesasne head coach Angelo Sanseverino said about the impending playoff run.
Akwesasne coach Angelo Sanseverino pleading his case to the officials (PHN photo by Wendy Hull)
Defensive capabilities of both teams can be assessed by each squad’s combined player plus-minus rating. This statistic outs individual players who spend more time on the ice when their team is not giving up goals to the opposing team. The regular season numbers point to the Privateers being more of a defensive threat in the match-up. Not including players who played less than ten games, Thousand Islands had a combined rating of plus-156 compared to Akwesasne’s plus-39.
Though defense may ultimately be the make or break element in the series, the offensive match-up should not be overlooked. It should provide plenty of entertaining action and could easily tip the balance one way or the other.
The Warriors can be calculatingly patient when attacking on offense. Good puck possession skills have allowed Akwesasne to execute deliberate plays deep in the offensive zone. They are also a very opportunistic team, taking advantage of mistakes by their opponents at key moments and turning the chances into goals.
The fact that the Warriors seem to be able to adapt to playing controlled systems is amazing considering the fact that practice time is at a premium. Only a handful of the players live in the immediate area of the team’s home rink. Many live far enough away that daily commuting while holding day jobs is impractical. Somehow Coach Sanseverino has been able to maximize the available practice time he has been given to set up some systems while allowing the players to improvise at others.
“It’s difficult at times because there are certain things that basically we freelance. That’s the best way to put it – we freelance,” Sanseverino said. “We don’t have an extreme forecheck. I mean, it’s a basic, simplified forecheck simply because we can’t practice breakouts. We don’t have a certain breakout. We’ll do different breakouts on different shifts which is kind of strange but these guys are smart enough that they know what to do.”
The talent his players possess has allowed Sanseverino to utilize his favorite “chalkboard” style of coaching. During games, he reads what the opposition is doing and makes adjustments on the fly as play continues. So far, it has worked quite well.
Further along the St. Lawrence River, the Privateers have developed a style of their own, taking hard work, speed, agility and turning it into a squad that has solid skating skills, notable transition talent and the ability to play physical if necessary.
Consistency within the roster has been a key component to Thousand Islands’ success. Alex Goupil (42 goals, 35 assists for 77 points and a plus-23 rating) and Tyler Fernandez (23-44-67, plus-29) have developed an on-ice chemistry that has made the pair one of the most lethal
Thousand Islands%27 Tyler Fernandez (PHN photo by Wendy Hull)
“You have to have consistent efforts when you only have 15 guys in the lineup,” Privateers head coach Mike Elberty said. “Everybody has to be able to identify their role and know what’s expected of them. Once that’s defined, it’s a matter of execution.”
Elberty’s post-season goals include keeping things simple, focusing on defensive posture, supporting the puck, utilizing speed and transition skills, spending quality time in the offensive zone and controlling the pace of the game. He stressed the importance of grabbing the momentum and dictating the pace early in the game.
“You want to come out and establish your own tempo and not have to re-identify that half way through a game,” he said. “That can be too late, especially against a team like Akwesasne.”
The Warriors also have a game plan. They will try to neutralize Thousand Islands’ top talents such as the
Thousand Islands%27 Alex Goupil (PHN photo by Wendy Hull)
The Warriors’ simple and effective mode of attack took the Privateers by storm at the onset of the season, winning the first three meetings in closely contested games. The Privateers responded with two straight wins including a lopsided 12-2 victory on December 2nd. In all, Akwesasne won eight of the head-to-head battles while Thousand Islands took six.
Both teams have had success against the other on their home ice, which could come into play as Akwesasne will host game five if the series goes to its limit. If each team carries its home-ice record and special teams performances into the playoffs, the series has the chance to be an instant classic. Elberty indicated that special teams will be important both for creating scoring opportunities as well as building momentum.
“You might not even score on the power play but you get puck possession and guys start to move more effectively off the puck,” he said.
During the regular season, Akwesasne had the best power play success, scoring on 25.9 percent of its chances. The Privateers weren’t far behind, connecting on 24.2 percent of their opportunities. The Warriors were even better with the man advantage away from the Turtle Dome, scoring on 26.8 percent of their power plays on the road (the rest of the league was below 20 percent away from home). Not to be outdone, Thousand Islands thrilled its fans by lighting the lamp on 28.9 percent of its man advantages at Bonnie Castle in Alexandria Bay (Akwesasne hit on 24.6 percent at home).
The Privateers were led on the power play by the Goupil-Fernandez duo. The pair combined for 36 power play points during the regular season. Goupil led the league with 12 goals while his team had a man advantage.
The Warriors have a solid core of forwards who score with the best of them on the power play. Team captain Patrick Deraspe (21-40-61, plus-8) posted 11 assists to lead his team with helpers on the man advantage while Miguel Delisle (22-27-49, plus-1) was high man with eight goals. Coach Sanseverino has not historically set up a specific power play unit going into games. He prefers to keep things dynamic so that he can tweak the unit as needed depending on the particular game situation.
Both teams are strong on the penalty kill with Akwesasne leading the way with a success rate of 84.85 percent and a stunning 13 short-handed goals. Thousand Islands was fourth best at 80.88 percent with two short-handed tallies. The Privateers were the best team killing penalties on the road, successfully surviving on 87.3 percent of their times short while allowing only eight goals against.
Coach Elberty places goaltending on the same level of importance as special teams. In a short series, the match-up between the pipes can easily decide the outcome. Josselin St. Pierre, the Privateers’ number one goalie for much of the season, left for Memphis of the CHL in late January and has since moved on to play for the Louisiana IceGators of the SPHL.
St. Pierre’s departure has greatly evened up the net minding battle. Former Union College (NCAA Div. I) goaltender Richard Sillery (10-8-3, 4.06 goals against, .879 save percentage) is expected to get the call for the Privateers with Karac Davis filling the backup role. At the other end of the ice, David Plouffe (21-8-1, 4.16 goals against, .892 save percentage) will be between the pipes for the Warriors with Nicholas Filion as his backup.
Plouffe was in net for the Warriors’ last regular season game, giving up seven of the eight goals scored as Danbury blanked Akwesasne. Sanseverino said the his team’s three-game losing streak to finish the season is water under the bridge and that he squad is focused on the road ahead.
The Privateers last saw game action on February 12th, giving them an eight-day rest and seemingly fresher legs for the start of the playoffs as Akwesasne finished up on February 20th. Elberty said that his players have been using the break wisely, working out, practicing and getting plenty of rest. He said that he isn’t worried about any rust come Thursday night.
Even if the series goes the limit, the winner will have a break before the finals begin. The South Country playoff teams, New York and Danbury, won’t end the regular season until February 26th with their best-of-five series starting on March 4th- just as the Akwesasne-Thousand Islands battle is ending.
As their war is about to begin, both coaches can’t wait to get going because each knows the other will be ready now that the regular season is behind them.
“(The) regular season is the regular season. It’s not the same intensity level as the playoffs,” Sanseverino said.
On the other side of the ice, Elberty is looking forward to battling his arch-rival.
“It’s always fun to play your cross-town rival,” he said. “We’re looking forward to it.”
Editor’s Pick: There isn’t much to choose between the two teams. The biggest difference may be how Sillery holds up in net for Thousand Islands. If Plouffe plays like he has all year, the Warriors have an advantage. This series will probably go the full five games with Akwesasne prevailing at home.
Contact the author at wendy.hull@prohockeynews.com
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